'Fairhaven' movie has local connection

Thursday

Feb 21, 2013 at 12:14 PM

By JOHN TESSIER

By JOHN TESSIER

Special Writer

Fairhaven, the picturesque Southcoast town that was once known along with its infamous neighbor New Bedford for its booming whaling and fishing industry, is the setting for a new movie entitled "Fairhaven." Former Middleboro residents Tim Haber and his father Roger Haber both appear in the film, and Tim worked in the sound department as a boom operator.

"I worked on the movie "Fairhaven" as a boom operator, but I also acted in a small scene which takes place in the first ten minutes of the film. I played a character named Chet, who is taking this laughter Yoga class that the main character goes to," Tim said.

The film revolves around three high school friends who reconnect in their hometown. Jon, played by Tom O'Brien (writer/director), was once a high school football star and college athlete who finds himself back in Fairhaven. Now in his mid-thirties, Jon's feeling that his best days are in the past find him soul searching, which is summed up in an interview with his hero Tom Brady when he says that after three Super Bowl wins, "There's got to be something more than this." He explains this epiphany to his old friend Sam, played by Rich Sommer (Mad Men) who at this point has already been married, had a child, and divorced. Sam never left Fairhaven, and is content with small town life and caring for his daughter while secretly pining over his ex-wife. Jon and Sam anticipate the return of Dave, played by Chris Messina (Argo, Damages) who is the third member of their group. Dave is finally returning to Fairhaven due to the death of his estranged father. Dave is determined to lift his friends' spirits with some booze-soaked fun while in town for the funeral.

"But when old dreams and simmering resentments come to the beer and tequila-soaked surface of their reunion, not even Dave can fend off a healthy dose of reality," the press for the movie asserts.

Tim's father Roger Haber played the priest who conducts the funeral in the film. This role is not a stretch for him, as Dr. Haber is a Baptist minister in real life.

"I've learned that being in a movie looks exciting, but it is a lot of waiting. I was dressed in these vestments for the funeral and had a censer, the thing with the smoke that you wave around the casket, and they didn't want it to go out. So, for this one little scene I am waving this censer around constantly so the smoke doesn't go out. Finally, after doing this for an hour or so I was getting tired and they had one of the production assistants do it," Dr. Haber said.

Tim Haber said it was interesting to work on a film in his own proverbial backyard. Tim has worked on other movies which were filmed in the area as well, including "The Way, Way Back" starring Steve Carrell. The movie was filmed at Water Wizz in Wareham as well in Onset Village. This film was entered into the Sundance Film Festival and was then bought by Fox Searchlight.

"I believe the movie was the highest selling movie at Sundance," said Tim.

According to www.the wrap.com, the film was purchased for $9.75 million, the highest selling Sundance film in recent years. Fox Searchlight won a bidding war that included Lionsgate and Paramount Pictures, among others.

"Fairhaven" was an Official Selection at both the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival as well as the 2012 Provincetown International Film Festival. The film won the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature at the 2012 Independent Film Festival Boston. The film is currently available for download at www.amazon.com, on iTunes, and On Demand.